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Sowell's Silent Treatment Gets Navy on Track

from press release

TOWSON, Md. -- Navy (3-3) bounced back from a
2-1 halftime deficit to outscore Towson (2-3) 5-1 in the third
period and go on to defeat the Tigers, 10-6, on Tuesday night in
front of 1,485 fans at Unitas Stadium. The win was the second
straight for the Midshipmen.

The two teams played a sloppy first half that saw more turnovers
(20) than shots (18). Navy's only goal in the first half came at 52
seconds left in the first quarter on a goal by Erik
Hoffstadt off an assist from Gabe Voumard.

"Sometimes it's not what you say, but what you don't say and I
really didn't say much at the half," said Navy head coachRick
Sowell. "I just told them that it was going to come down to whoever
wanted it more. I think our guys showed how much they wanted to
win. I'm not sure what it was in the first half, but it wasn't
lacrosse. We invented ways to turn it over in the first half."

"The poise we didn't have in the first half we played with in
the second half and it led us to some great opportunities to put
the ball in the net," said senior co-captain Taylor
Reynolds.

The Mids took control of the game in the third quarter, scoring
five-consecutive goals to take a 6-2 lead. Sophomore long
stick Pat Kiernan got things going for Navy with a
beautiful over the shoulder shot off an assist from Tucker
Hull to tie the game at two just 2:33 into the third
quarter.

Navy would take its first lead of the game less than two minutes
later when Hull scored off an assist from Nikk Davis and
then Hull made it 4-2 thanks to an assist from Reynolds.

Bryce Dabbs put the Mids up three at 5-2 with 1:27 left in
the third quarter as Davis assisted for the second time in the
quarter and then Reynolds capped the run 25 seconds later off an
assist from Hull.

The Mids continued to pile up the goals in the fourth quarter as
Navy stretched the lead to 10-4 on goals by Reynolds, Durkin,
Voumard and Dabbs before the Tigers scored two goals in the final
30 seconds to provide the final score.

The Navy defense was strong all night, forcing 13 Towson
turnovers. Austin Miller and Kiernan led the defensive
effort with two caused turnovers. Kiernan added four ground balls,
while Ian Crumley had three. R.J. Wickham was solid in
goal, coming up with nine saves.

"We are starting to get everybody on the same page on defense.
The unity is there. Matt Vernam did a great job of
leading the defense tonight and Pat Kiernan is an impact
player for us."

Hull, who is second in the country in scoring (5.4 points per
contest), led Navy with five points (2 goals, 3 assists), while
Reynolds added four (2 goals, 2 assists).

Logan West had a good night at the X, winning 11 of 19
faceoffs and scooped up eight ground balls.